Mixing the cotton and vasoline will be a little messy, but is not very messy to use. The cotton should be lightly coated, but mixed through thoroughly. I filled a Fuji film conainer with the mix. The container holds a lot of compressed cotton. I like the Fuji conainers because the cap fits on the inside, and if necessary, I can sqeeze the conainer to pop the top off. The opening is wide enough to put two fingers in, or even a stick can be used to dig it out. I have ususally carried it loose in an outside pocket of my fanny pack with a Boy Scout hot spark. Never tried to put cotton in an Altoids tin or whatever. A film conainer will hold a lot of fires worth of cotton.